Steve
Forbert

Steve Forbert was born
and raised in Meridian, Mississippi, an historic city whose position
as a crucial Confederate railroad hub was such that it ultimately drew
the unwelcome attention of one General William Tecumseh Sherman (who
is said to have proclaimed, as he rode out of sight, “Meridian
is no more.”).

Sherman’s boast notwithstanding, Meridian carried on, and
even thrived. In 1897, Jimmie Rodgers (The Father Of Country Music)
was born there. In 1954, Steve Forbert emerged, alive on arrival.

Forbert took to music early on, learning to play guitar from a distant
cousin of Rodgers’ at the age of 10. He apprenticed in the
typical array of local bands through high school, after which (like
another famous musical Son Of Mississippi) he augmented his income
as a truck driver.

But small-town Mississippi life just wasn’t cutting it and
at age 21 he packed up his songs, his guitar, his harmonica and his
ambition and moved to New York City. Taking a room at the “Y” on
23rd Street, he worked various odd jobs by day, and spent evenings
busking in Grand Central Station.

Young, confident and generally optimistic, Forbert (and his music)
flourished in Greenwich Village’s tough-but-romantic bohemian
lifestyle where his Southern folkie persona was in marked contrast
to the harder edged new wave scene that was thriving at the time.
Gigs at the renowned Folk City led to his first paying gig in NYC
at Kenny’s Castaways while an audition at Hilly Crystal’s
fabled CBGB’s produced opening act slots for artists ranging
from Talking Heads to John Cale.

Forbert was signed to Nemperor Records (a Columbia subsidiary),
and his debut record, Alive On Arrival, was released in 1978. Like
a lot of other talented singer/songwriters who happened to play acoustic
guitar and a harp-on-a-rack, Forbert was hailed by critics and promoters
alike as yet another “next Dylan.”

Despite that awkward baggage, Alive On Arrival was extremely well-received,
and 1979’s follow-up, "Jackrabbit Slim", proceeded
to crack the Top 20 on the strength of its remarkable hit single, “Romeo’s
Tune.”

"Little Stevie Orbit" (1980) and Steve Forbert (1982)
met with less success, and a fifth, untitled record was rejected
by the label. Forbert’s relationship with the parent company
was strained, then finally stalled.

“I made my own mistakes,” Steve admits, “and I
did a damn good job of it. But that was a very difficult time. I
couldn’t get away from Columbia. They didn’t like the
record we made, but wouldn’t open up a dialogue about what
to do about it. I was in limbo, and it took me years to get out of
it.”

But two discs of astonishingly timeless Forbert material recorded
during those years have been released recently (2001’s Young
Guitar Days and 2002’s More Young Guitar Days) that make it
abundantly clear that the impasse wasn’t about lack of material
or talent.

At any rate, the mid-’80s were a bit of a struggle, but Forbert
moved to Nashville and landed a deal with Geffen, on which he released
two of his best albums, 1988’s acclaimed Streets Of This Town
(produced by the E Street Band’s Garry Tallent) and 1992’s
brilliant The American In Me (produced by Dwight Yoakam guitarist/producer
Pete Anderson).

Forbert’s trademark warm vocal rasp took on a welcome patina,
and his lyrics reflected a sadder-but-wiser Stevie Orbit, but the
tunefulness, the evidence of pan-genre inspiration and the writer’s
gift for keen observation and evocative clarity were all still there
in spades.

Moving to Warner subsidiary Giant Records, Forbert continued to
create cutting, stellar music with 1995’s Mission of the Crossroad
Palms and 1996’s spunky Rocking Horse Head, then he closed
out the decade with a free-wheeling, informal “live” set,
Here’s Your Pizza, for Paladin that interleaved fave Forbert
originals with rollicking visitations to such diverse influences
as Jimmie Rodgers, The Beatles, Tony Joe White, Robert Johnson, Ritchie
Valens and Tommy Roe.

Y2K brought the elegant Evergreen Boy for Koch Records, and Forbert’s
latest work is Any Old Time (due October 8th on Koch).

Dedicated solely to the songs of his Meridian homeboy, Jimmie Rodgers,
Any Old Time is a wonderful collection of heartfelt and wholly original
treatments of some of the greatest music ever to spring from American
soil. Reuniting Forbert with producer Garry Tallent and an all-star
band that is hand-picked from across the years of Steve’s exemplary
career, the disc seems to represent a coming to terms with all that’s
passed before while clearing the decks for what’s yet to come
from this singular, passionate artist.

Whatever the future brings, consider it a lock that Steve Forbert
will continue to create, to perform, and to bring his unique world
view to the people.